
In Suburban Hanoi, With Summer Comes the Red-Purple Cascade of Mulberries
In suburban Hanoi, this is the season when mulberry branches heavy with bright red fruits dangle in the summer wind.

After Saigon Police Bust Major Pet Theft Ring, the City Rallies to Help Care for 400 Cats
After an extended investigation, the Hồ Chí Minh City Police Department has busted a major cat theft and distribution ring that operated across multiple southern provinces.

A Visit to Lê Minh Xuân, a Rare Craft Village Making Incense Sticks Amid Saigon
From inside the workshop, artisans carry bundle after bundle of freshly made incense sticks into the courtyard amid the morning mist. A gentle scent of spices linger in the air.

As Thanh Đa Faces Redevelopment, Writer Dạ Ngân Reflects on What Will Be Lost
To me, my trip to Cư xá Thanh Đa in summer 1982 was a serendipitous encounter. It was Saigon’s largest-scale residential complex in the first half of the 1970s, with nearly 4,000 separate units housing about 50,000 inhabitants. Cư xá refers to a residential quarter reserved for gainfully employed citizens, with a vision to establish a model community with a high quality of life. Here, in their three-bedroom apartments, civil servants, professors, doctors, and military leaders ranked major or higher lived in pride of being a part of a cư xá like that.

How Saigon's Free Water Coolers Quench Thirst and Spread Kindness
In recent years, stories about climate change's impacts on the lives of Vietnamese people have been increasingly making the news.

Inside the Covid Memorial Park at 1 Lý Thái Tổ, Saigon's Brand-New Green Space
As part of Saigon’s latest initiative to increase green space coverage in the city, a number of abandoned land plots were converted into public parks, including a Covid Memorial Park that’s become a beloved destination for Saigoneers seeking a space to jog, reflect, or just simply touch grass.

All Aboard Bus 146, Home of Plushies, Rubber Chickens and a Side of Humanity
“Cute” doesn’t seem like a fitting descriptor for any mode of public transport, but a bus in Saigon is driving straight into the heart of Saigoneers for being the quintessence of “smotheringly adorable.”

Saigon Set to Make Bus Service Free for All to Cut Congestion, Air Pollution
Saigoneers without private vehicles might be happy to hear that the city is planning to make the municipal bus system free to ride in the near future.

Saigon Bans Pets, Picnics on Nguyen Hue Promenade
Saigon authorities are clamping down on a number of activities that have been taking place on the city’s new pedestrian promenade.

[Photos] Ha Long Bay Being Overrun By Toxic Slurry Following Heavy Flooding
Weeks of heavy flooding in northern Vietnam has not only resulted 17 deaths and the loss of millions of dollars in damages, but also besieged Ha Long Bay with toxic slurry from nearby coal mines.

Weekend News Roundup: Duo Arrested For Facebook Page That Tells Drivers How To Avoid Cops
Man City friendly sponsor declares big losses [DTI] Hundreds brave persistent rain at LGBT rally in Vietnam [Channel News Asia] VN tops ASEAN with number of new domains [Vietnam Plus]

Da Nang’s Image Threatened By Rip-Offs, Thefts
Da Nang has long served as a poster child for a Vietnamese urban development. It is clean and modern (free WIFI!), sports beautiful beaches and offers great seafood. However, a growing number of touri...

7-Eleven Is Officially Coming To Vietnam
Vietnam’s convenience store market is about to get a bit more competitive with 7-Eleven announcing that it will open its first location in the country by early 2018.

Morning News Roundup: VN Greenhouse Gas To Double By 2020
Vietnamese teens jailed for phone card fraud [Thanh Nien] Naval ship to rescue 1,500 tourists stranded on island near Ha Long Bay [Tuoi Tre] David Cameron becomes first serving British PM to vi...

These Cutting-Edge Japanese Rice Cookers Cost Up To US$1,000
Not all rice is cooked equally, or so goes the thinking behind a slew of new rice cookers in Japan that can fetch prices of almost US$1,000.

Vietnamese Celebrity Fined For Letting Her Child Urinate In Vomit Bag
You can add singer Le Quyen to the list of Vietnamese celebrities that have stirred controversy due to their in-air faux pas after she allowed her 4-year-old son to urinate in an airsic...

Morning News Roundup: Around 0.057% Of Population Borrows Books From Public Libraries
Hanoi: 17,000 people have 30m2 of playgrounds [Vietnam Net] Vietnam pays heavy price for petrochemistry industry [Vietnam Net] Da Nang introduces speed limit on key bridge [Vietnam News]

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry Will Pay A Visit To Vietnam Next Week
The U.S. Department of State has announced that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will make a stop in Vietnam next week as part of a five-country trip to the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

Hanoi Opera House To Be Repainted, Returned To Its Original Color
In what seems to be a repeat of the paint scandal that recently hit Saigon’s Central Post Office, Hanoi authorities have announced that the city’s 104-year-old opera house will soon return to its orig...

Morning News Roundup: HCMC Project Gives Facelift To Iconic Turtle Lake
Growing greenhouse gas level requires workable solutions [Vietnam Plus] More than 16,000 residents in HCMC bitten by mad animals [SGGP] Vietnam spends $463 million on imported pesticides [Vietnam Ne...

[Video] Manchester City Destroys Vietnam 8-1, VN Fans Irate After Being Ignored By Players
Manchester City easily handled the Vietnamese national football team last night, winning by a score of 8-1 at Hanoi’s My Dinh Stadium with three doubles by David Silva, Raheem Sterling and Aleksandar ...

[Photos] Deadly Floods Devastate Quang Ninh Province
Three days of continuous rains have ravaged the northern province of Quang Ninh, turning streets into rivers and killing at least three people.

Morning News Roundup: Artists Propose Ways To Enliven Ho Chi Minh City Pedestrian Street
Cai Rang among world’s six busiest floating markets [Vietnam Net] Viet Nam's stock market helps drive the economy [Vietnam News] Number of Vietnamese visiting Japan soars [VoV]

Hanoi Police To Patrol City On Bikes To Build "Friendly" Image
In order to create a friendlier public image, Hanoi will soon have some of its police officers patrol the city on bicycles.

Weekend News Roundup: Teachers Talk Less During Lessons Under New Methodology
German news agency apologizes to Vietnam defense minister for false death report [Tuoi Tre] Vietnamese arrested in Japan for cyber revenge on former employer [Thanh Nien] Vietnam’s first heart-lung ...

Experts Outraged After Hanoi Opera House Repainted Without Permission
In a story (and color) eerily reminiscent of the Saigon Post Office’s botched paint job earlier this year, experts are blasting the new, garish shade of Hanoi’s 104-year-old opera house.

Morning News Roundup: HCMC Wants Longer Visa Exemption For European Tourists
Hanoi aims to offer top welfare services by 2020 [Vietnam Plus] HCM City monorail line No 2 gets new costly project quotation [SGGP] Huge FDI projects withdraw from Vietnam and the consequences [Vie...

Singapore Refuses Entry, Sends A Number Of Vietnamese Visitors Home Without Explanation
Vietnam will soon ask its Singaporean counterparts for an explanation as to why a number of mostly female passengers were recently denied entry into the country.

